Raise your hand if someone has ever said to you “But isn’t that just bribing your kid to behave?” As Behavior Analysts, we just want to slap our foreheads in frustration every single time we hear that. Every. Single. Time!

NO!! Positive reinforcement is NOT the same thing as bribery!

I could write paragraph after paragraph on this subject. But who has time to read all that? (Obvious answer: Ain’t nobody got time fo that.)

So I am sharing a series of visuals depicting the differences between positive reinforcement (when used appropriately as a behavior analytic technique) and bribery.